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Little boy blesses the Internet by hopping on stage with Pope Francis


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A little boy upstaged Pope Francis during his weekly speech to the general audience, and also managed to charm the Internet.

The video shows the six-year-old boy climb on to the stage while the pope addressed the crowd, walking over to shake the hand of a nearby guard before running toward the back of the stage.

At one point, the boy's mother jumps on stage to retrieve him, but Pope Francis said "leave him to play here."

The Associated Press reports six-year-old Wenzel Wirth is unable to speak according to his mother, which the pope then told the crowd.

"And he has something that made me think: He’s free. Undisciplined-ly free, but he’s free," said the pope, according to AP.

Ariel Wirth, the boy's father, told the AP the family allows their son to express himself in other ways because of his inability to speak.

"We try to let him be free. He has to express himself, and we live without hiding his problems,” he said.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.